


i'm also a ninja

by bar_allen



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s01e10 Nelson v. Murdock, Matt Murdock & Foggy Nelson Friendship, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson at Columbia, Some Fluff, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 03:43:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16694788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bar_allen/pseuds/bar_allen
Summary: "No, it's even worse for me, I think. ’Cause my senses are so... are... hmm...""So what? Delicate?""Well... that's one way of putting it..."





	i'm also a ninja

**Author's Note:**

> the part in italics is the dialogue taken from the episode.

_"...And then we forage for hamburgers and more libations!"_

_"How about just the burgers?"_

_"Lightweight! Hey, do you get the spins? Can you get those if you can't see?"_

_"Yeah, I get the spins."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, it's – It's an equilibrium thing, it's not your eyes. Liquid in your inner ear gets disturbed, has trouble levelling off, or something."_

_"Huh. That sucks. I thought you might get a pass on that one."_

_"No, it's even worse for me, I think. ’Cause my senses are so... are... hmm..."_

_"So what? Delicate?"_

"Well... that's one way of putting it..."

"What do you mean?" Foggy urges.

Matt hesitates. He has wanted to tell Foggy the truth for a while now, has almost slipped up many times, especially with how comfortable and close they have grown to each other. But he would always catch himself before he revealed too much, and it's always made him feel more ashamed. More of a coward. Stick's voice rings in his ears warning him of becoming too soft, getting too close to someone. His abandonment still stings, still leaves an aching hole in his chest. What if after he tells Foggy, his roommate sees him as a freak and decides he wants nothing to do with him?

But this is Foggy, his best friend of four years, the one person who has never walked on eggshells around him, who has been kind and honest to him since the first moment. Doesn't he deserve to know the truth?

While Matt debates with himself, Foggy notices the frown that makes its way onto his friend's face. It's the same one he'd have whenever Foggy asks questions regarding Matt's childhood. And Foggy isn't stupid. He knows Matt's childhood can't have been all sunshine and flowers. And he knows Matt's got secrets, probably some huge dark secrets that he'd never share with anyone. But Foggy wishes Matt would trust him enough to share some of that burden with him.

"Matt? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Unbeknownst to Foggy, those words are exactly what Matt's needed to hear at that moment.

"I – uh... there's something... something I've never told you before..."

Foggy nods, tilts his head to the side, giving Matt his full attention. Matt has his serious face on, the one he had when he told Foggy about his mother leaving after he was born, and when he told him about the accident that blinded him, and about his father’s death. This is important. Foggy pats Matt's shoulder encouragingly.

Matt takes a deep breath and then starts talking.

"I told you that I lost... lost my sight when I was hit by that truck..."

"Yeah,"

"That wasn't the full truth."

Alarms are going off in Matt's head telling him to stop, to back down, keep the secret only one other person has ever known to himself. But he continues.

"The... uh, the truck, it was carrying some weird chemicals. When it crashed, those chemicals got spilt into my eyes. That's what blinded me..." Matt trails off, still not sure how to say what he's planning on sharing next.

Foggy takes Matt's hesitation as a sign of shame, "is that it? Dude, seriously, I still think you're a hero, truck knocking your peepers off or chemicals messing them up."

Matt shakes his head and closes his eyes.

"No, Foggy," he says softly, "that's not...

Those chemicals, they didn't just blind me. They, uh... they affected the rest of my senses, too. Heightened them."

Foggy blinks. "What?"

Matt opens his eyes and turns them towards Foggy's direction, "they've heightened the rest of my senses, giving me certain... certain abilities..."

"Certain abilities. What does that mean?"

"I can hear conversations in a room in a different block. I can taste every single ingredient in that burger from the place you love to buy from. I can smell old stains on clothes even if they've been washed thoroughly. "

Matt can't believe he's just said all of that. But he's never felt more open. And he's definitely never been more nervous. And Foggy's silence isn't helping.

" Foggy? Please, say something."

"You're not joking," Foggy declares suddenly, "I know your joking face, and this isn't it."

Matt lets out a breath slowly to calm himself, "you're right, I'm not joking."

Foggy remains silent, which unnerves Matt even more.

"Foggy, I am so sorry I never told you before. I am so, so sorry. I swear I – I didn't want to keep this from you. I – I just, I didn't know how to– I didn't know how to tell you. I mean – I mean I haven't – I've never told anyone before, not even my dad... And I was worried, worried you'd think – that you'd see me differently... But if you – if you don't want... if you decide – if you decide t–"

"Matt, you need to breathe," Foggy's voice fills his ears, loud as the sound of his own frantic heartbeat. He suddenly becomes aware of how fast and shallow his breaths have become. It takes him a few moments for his breathing to become even again, and that's when he realises that Foggy's heartbeat is almost as fast as his own. Fear. Foggy is afraid.

"Foggy, are you – your heartbeat, it's–"

Foggy's heart skips a beat.

"Wait, you can... can you hear my heartbeat?"

"Y–Yes, I'm sorry, I can usually ignore it, but I... I can't completely tune it out. I know this must be weird for you, I'm so so–"

"If you say sorry again, I might have to punch you, blind with superpowers or not," Foggy stops him.

They sit in silence that stretches on for what feels like an eternity but is actually just a few moments, as Matt listens to Foggy's quick but steady heartbeat trying to somehow make sense of what his roommate is feeling. Then Foggy's breath changes indicating that he's about to say something.

"Okay... I can't say I've really processed what you've just told me, but I guess I've always known you were secretive; I just didn't think it was... well, this."

"My – My past, my childhood, they've been... I - uh, there's a lot I haven't told you. And I know it makes me a terrible friend, but I just... I never really thought you'd stick around this long. I've – I've never really had friends, Foggy, and you, you're my first and only friend. I was, I still am, scared that knowing about my messed up past would make you leave, make you hate me..."

"I'd never hate you," Foggy sighs, "and there's nothing you can tell me that'd make me leave, okay? And like I said, I’ve always known you were secretive. I just didn’t think you were hiding something so... I don’t think I even have a word for what this is. You’ve rendered me speechless, Murdock."

Matt frowns noticing his friend’s heartbeat return to normal, “Are you, uh, you’re not mad?”

“I am shocked and confused, and possibly a little hurt, but no, Matt, I’m not mad.”

“But… why not?”

“Because I understand why you never told me. I mean, you just said that you didn’t even tell your dad?” Matt nods, “Jeez, dude, you were nine, and your instinct was to keep it a secret. Besides, you told me now, so that must mean something, right?”

Matt focuses all of his attention on trying to detect any lie, any waver in Foggy’s heartbeat. But there are none. Foggy is being completely honest with him. He’s not mad. That gives Matt an idea since he’s already in a sharing mood.

“There’s more, Foggy,” Matt smirks, “I’m also a ninja.”

Foggy remains silent for a second, then bursts out laughing, stopping immediately once he sees Matt’s raised eyebrows.

“Wait, what?”

“Well, after my dad… I was having a hard time adjusting, and my senses were all over the place. So this blind guy, named, uh, Stick, found me. And he trained me, helped me cope and control my abilities. And he may or may not have taught me martial arts.”

“Dude, this sounds like some cliché comic book backstory,” Foggy whispers, “are you being serious right now?”

“100 per cent,” Matt smiles innocently.

“So, what can you do? Can you do a flip?”

“I can do so much more than that.”

Matt grabs Foggy’s arm, pulling them both to their feet. He tilts his head, taking in his surroundings, making sure there is no one in the area, no one watching. He turns to Foggy and smirks before handing him his cane and backflipping down the stairs. Foggy squeals.

“Dude, we’re gonna have so much fun!”


End file.
